As this watercolor illustrates, health, not pleasure, was the primary
motive for early beach-going at Margate in Kent. Therapeutic
activities included strolling the waterfront to inhale the salty air
and immersion in the cold, frothy surf, facilitated by a “bathing
machine,” a horse-drawn cart with an expandable canvas bonnet.
These curious contraptions, seen in the left half of the shallow
harbor, allowed modest gentlefolk to undress and take the plunge
out of sight from neighboring bathers. This watercolor is one of
six by Philip James de Loutherbourg showing facets of daily life
in Margate and the nearby resorts of Ramsgate, Brighton, and
Worthing, reproduced in aquatint by J. C. Stadler and published in
1801 as a portfolio entitled Picturesque Scenery of Great Britain.